Treadmill for walking toys



Dec. 1, 1953 BLACK 2,660,811

TREADMILL FOR WALKING TOYS Filed Oct. 2, 1950 INVENTOR. flan/4.00M 844a:

Patented Dec. 1, 1953 TREADMILL FOR WALKING TOYS Howard M. Black, Los Angeles, 'Calif., assignor to Artisan Novelty Company, Gardena, Calif., a corporation of California Application October 2, 1950, Serial No. 187,885

3 Claims.

My invention relates generally to treadmills, and more particularly to a demonstration treadmill for use with walking toys.

The preferred embodiment of my invention described herein is especially advantageous for demonstrating a walking doll of the class described in my copending application Serial No. 137,628, filed January 9, 1950, now Patent No. 2,621,443. As can be appreciated, the use of my demonstration treadmill is not limited to this particular walking toy, but can be used with many different toys having a similar mode of operation.

Broadly considered, my invention comprises a pair of motor driven belts which are vertically reciprocated to actuate the leg mechanisms of the doll in alternate sequence. The body of the doll is standing erect during the alternating movements of the legs, and the doll appears to be walking against the treadmill. I thus provide a compact unit which can be used in display windows or the like to demonstrate the walking characteristics of the toy. No attendant is required, and the device will operate continuously and at all times maintain the proper phase relationship between the leg movements.

It is a major object of my invention to provide a power driven demonstration treadmill of such design that the leg mechanisms of a walking toy may be intermittently actuated in an alternate sequence to simulate walking.

Another object of my invention is to provide a demonstration treadmill that is simple and compact, and may be operated continuously without attention.

It is also an object of my invention to provide a demonstration treadmill having positive driving means to maintain'the traveling belts and lift cams in the correct phase relationship.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a treadmill having'means associated with the belt driving mechanism for maintaining the proper belt tension while the belts are reciprocated.

These and other objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred form thereof, and from an inspection of the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a preferred form of my demonstration treadwill with a walking toy positioned thereon;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the treadmill with the outer housing removed, and with the legs of a walking toy in an intermediate position of the walking cycle;

Fig. 3 is a front end elevation taken in the direction of the arrow 3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a partial section taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 3 showing the adjustable motor mounting;

Fig. 5 is a detail of the adjustable spring tension brace for the roller supports;

Fig. 6 is a detail showing a cam shaft and the relative position of the support cams thereon; and

Fig. '7 is a section taken along the line 'i-"l of Fig. 2 showing the position of the support cams and belts.

To achieve a proper understanding of my demonstration treadmill, it is necessary to consider briefly the operation of walking toys with which the device is used. The treadmill is suitable for toys of a class characterized by pivotally mounted legs having spring means which tend to return the legs to a vertical position when pivoted. In the conventional manner of operating such a toy, the body is advanced or translated horizontally and is rocked slightly from side to side. The advancing movement drives one of the legs rearwardly, while the rocking motion gives the opposite leg sumcient clearance to swing forwardly under the urging of the spring return means. Such a motion is well known in the art, and is used in operating many different types of walking toys. For a more complete and detailed description of the walking cycle, reference is made to my aforementioned application.

The operation of toys on my treadmill reaches the result just described by a reverse sequence of motions. The body of the toy is held and a traveling belt means is adapted to pass beneath the legs. Cam means are provided to vertically reciprocate the opposite sides of the belt means in alternate time phase. As the belt means are raised, the legs are alternately driven rearwardly, and as the belt means are lowered the legs are freed for the return swing. In this manner the legs are moved to and fro, and the doll appears to be walking against the travel of the treadmill. It can be appreciated that such a realistic demonstration is a very convincing factor in the sale of the merchandise.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to Fig. 1 thereof, a preferred form of my treadmill is designated generally by the numeral Hi. A rectangular cover or housing ii encloses the driving mechanism of the treadmill and provides an attractive display stand. At the back side of the housing H is an upwardly extending Wall or standard [2 whichcarries a bracket (not 'or flange and has similar end flanges shown) for holding the body of the walking toy. The upper surface of the housing H is open to expose movable belt means in the form of a pair of generally horizontal belts l3 and I4 which are driven by the internal mechanism. It can be understood, of course, that the housing ll may be modified considerably from the shape illustrated, and that it is supported on a stand or table for display purposes.

A doll l5 of the class described in my aforementioned application is supported by the standard 12 with a body portion [5 in an-erect position, and left and right legs i7 and I? extend ing downwardl to contact the belts l3 and id respectively. The doll i5 faces the direction of travel of the belts l3 and It so that the legs 1'. and H8 are moved rearwardly upon travel of the belts. The return kick of the legs I? and it is then caused by the spring return mechanism within the doll. Besides the doll shown, other toys having a similar leg motion may'also be demonstrated.

In Fig. 2 the outer housing H has been removed to view the belt supporting and driving means. type and are formed as fiat flexible band's dis posed in parallel side-by-s'i'de relationship. To support the belts i3 and i l, rollers 26 and 21 are provided. The forward roller '26 is the driv ing roller and moves the belts l3 and M clock- *wise as shown by the arrow of Fig. 2 to pass rearwardly beneath the doll legs ll and !8. To mount the roller 20 a lateral shaft or axle 22 is keyed therein and is rotatably journaled in end bearings 23 as are best seen in Fig. 3.

The roller Ell is centrally divided a spacer or guides '25. These flanges just span the width of the belts l3 and i4 and ensure proper tracking and guiding thereof. It should also be noted that both halves of the roller 20 are keyed to the common shaft 22, and the belts l3 and Hi will therefore rotate together at all times.

The rear roller 2! is similar to the roller 20 and is mounted parallel thereto by means of a .central shaft 23 and bearings 27. The roller 2| is likewise divided by a central flange (not shown) and has end flanges 28 to maintain the proper belt alignment.

For the purpose of supporting the rollers 23 and 2 I, uprights or corner posts 38 and Bi extend from the front and rear ends of a lower base member 32. The base 32 is formed as a fiat rectangular plate and may be rigidly secured to the forward uprights 38 by means of angle brackets '33. The forward bearings 23 are pressed into horizontal slots formed in the forward edges of the uprights 33 so as to be securely fastened against the rearward pull of the belts I3 and M. This construction also allows the shaft and bearings 22-43 to be installed as a unit. The rear bearings 27 are similarly pressed into slots formed in the rear edges of the uprights 3i and are secure'ly held against forward movement.

In order to drive the roller 23 a sprocket 35 is mounted on the left end of the shaft 22 as seen in Fig. 3. Driving means, such as a chain 36, connect the sprocket 35 with a similar lower sprocket 31 mounted on the shaft of a suitable motor 38. As shown, the motor 38 is an electric motor directly coupled to the sprocket 3?, but other motors may be used and a suitable gear reduction unit can be inserted if necessary to obtain a proper belt speed. The motor 38 is fastened on the .base plate 32 .by meansofspaced The belts i3 and 14 are of the endless adjustable slots 39, as are best seen in Fig. 4, for adjustment of the driving chain 36. To brace the uprights against the pull of the driving means, triangular braces it may be secured adjacent each end of the motor 38.

As will later be described, the belts l3 and M are subjected to alternate vertical reciprocation while traveling about the rollers 26 and 2!. To maintain a proper belt tension the rear roller 2| is pivotally mounted on the base 32 by the uprights 3| and is urged rearwardly by automatic tension means. Extending upwardly from the base plate 32 are bearing brackets carrying pivot pins or pintles 46 rotatably connected to the lower end of the uprights 3!. The upper ends of the uprights 3! are thus adapted to move forwardly and rearwardly to maintain a predetermined belt tension.

In order to yieldingly support the uprights 3|, an angularly disposed belt-tensioning brace 50 is connected between the base plate 32 and each upright. The lower end of the braces Evil are pivoted on angle brackets 51 secured to the plate 32, and the upper .ends are pivoted near the mid-- points of the uprights 3!. The braces 5t urge the uprights 3i rearwardly, as indicated by the arrow of Fig. 2, to resist the forward pull of the belts l3 and i l.

The construction of the belt-tensioning brace 59 can best be seen by reference to Fig. 5. A lower arm 52 is formed for connection with the base bracket and has an upper threaded stem 53 engaged with a sleeve member 54. The sleeve 54 can be rotated and adjusted axially along the stem 53 in the manner of a conventional turnbuckle. At the upper end of the sleeve 5a is an integral flange 55 which abuts one end of a strong coil spring 53. An upper arm '5? is formed for connection with the uprights 31, and has a nonthreaded stem 58 which passes through the spring 56 and is slidably engaged with the sleeve 54. A fiange 59 is formed on the arms 5'! and bears against the spring '56 so that downward movement of the arm causes compression of the spring and automatically resists displacement of the uprights 3!. By adjustment of the sleeve 54, the effective length of the spring 55 may be varied to change the spring loading on the upright 31. I am therefore able to maintain the proper tension on the belts I3 and M notwithstanding the variations in the path of travel caused by the alternate vertical reciprocation of each belt.

It will be remembered that the feet of legs I! and I8 contact belts l3 and [4 for rearward movement. The legs 11 and 13 travel rearwardly until the limit of pivotal movement is reached. This limit is the point at which the arc of travel of the pivoted legs departs substantially from the plane of the moving belts. At this point the leg will be kicked or returned forwardly bythe spring means associated With the leg action, if the return path of travel is free from engagement with the belt. In the normal operation of the doll such free return is effected by oscillating or rocking the doll from side to side. In my demonstration treadmill substantially the same result is reached by lowering the path of travel of the belt at properly spaced intervals. To this end, I provide cam supporting means Whichcause alternao nate vertical reciprocations of the center portions of the belts l3 and I4.

A pair of cam or fiat sided wheels and 66 are centrally mounted beneath the upper span of the belts l3 and 14, respectively. The wheels 65 and 66 are keyed to a coaxial shaftt'l which extends laterally across the device and is rotatably mounted in end bearings 68. The bearings 68 are in turn held by suitable standards 69 extended from the base plate 32. On one end of the shaft 61 is a sprocket driven by connection to the roller drive shaft 22. A chain H engages the sprocket 10 and a similar sprocket 12 mounted on the shaft 22, as is best seen in Fig. 3. The wheels 65 and 56 are thus positively driven for rotation in the direction indicated by the arrow of Fig. 2.

The axis of the shaft 61 is slightly above that of the roller shaft 22-26, and the diameter of the wheels 65 and 66 is so chosen that the belts l3 and 14 rise or hump slightly in riding over the concentric surface of the wheels. When the belts l3 and 14 contact the flat portions of the wheels 65 and 66, the path of travel is lowered to a generally horizontal plane. As can best be seen in Figs. 6 and 7, the wheels 65 and 66 have fiat sides 15 and 16, respectively. The sides 15 and 16 are positioned 180 apart relative to the axis of the shaft 6'1 so that they will operate in alternate phase relationship.

In considering the operation of the device, it can be understood that the leg I! will travel rearwardly until the limit of pivotal movement is reached. At the point the flat side 15 of the wheel 65 engages the belt 13, and permits the path of travel of the belt to be lowered. This frees the leg I! which then kicks forward under the action of its spring return mechanism. Such is substantially the position shown in Fig. 2 in which the leg IT has just swung forwardly. Meanwhile, the leg I8 is traveling rearwardly in engagement with the raised belt Hi. When the flat side 16 engages the belt 14, the belt i lowered and the leg I8 is free to swing forward. By this time the leg I! will have moved some distance rearwardly, and the doll will appear to have shifted its weight to this leg. Continuing in alternate sequence because of the phase relationship of the wheels 65 and 66, the doll walks in a normal manner'against the travel of the treadmill.

The walking ability of the doll is thu effectively demonstrated in a manner which is particularly advantageous for display windows or the like. The design of the preferred device has been made simple and rugged to give continuous service, but it can be understood that many modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of my invention. Therefore, I do not wish to be limited to the details of construction herein described, except as defined in my appended claims.

I claim:

1. A treadmill for causing simulated walking of a toy having pivotal legs which comprises: a rectangular framework having a base member and. laterally spaced end uprights, one pair of said spaced uprights being pivotally mounted on said base member; a standard to hold a toy in an erect position above the center of said framework and facing one end thereof; horizontal roller rotatably mounted on said end uprights and extending laterally across said framework; endless belt means mounted. on said rollers to move beneath the legs of said toy; drive means including a motor adjustably mounted on said base member and connected to one of said rollers to move said belt means; cam means mounted on said framework and engaging said belt means to vertically reciprocate laterally spaced portions of said belt means in alternate time phase to thereby alternately engage and disengage said belt means and said legs; means connecting said cam means with said roller drive means; and adjustable spring braces mounted on said framework and yieldably urging said pivoted uprights outwardly to maintain a predetermined tension on said belt means.

2. A treadmill for causing simulated walking: of a toy having pivotal legs which comprises: a rectangular framework having a base member and end uprights; a standard to hold a toy in an erect position above the center of said framework and facing one end thereof; horizontal rollers rotatably mounted on said end uprights and extending laterally across said framework; a pair of flexible belts mounted side-by-side on said rollersv to move beneath the legs of said toy; drive means; including a motor mounted on said base member and connected to one of said rollers to move saidv belts continuously about said rollers; a pair of cam wheels centrally supported on said framework beneath said belts with each of said wheels engaging one of said belts to vertically reciprocate said belts in alternate time phase to thereby alternately engage and disengage said belts and said legs; and means connecting said cam wheels with said roller drive means for continu ous rotation.

3. A treadmill for causing simulated walking: of a toy having pivotal legs which comprises: a rectangular framework having a base mem-' ber and laterally spaced end uprights, one pair of said spaced uprights being pivotally mounted on said base member; a standard to hold a toy in an erect position above the center of said framework and facing one end thereof; horizontal rollers rotatably mounted on said end uprights and extending laterally across said framework; a pair of flexible belts mounted side-by-side on said rollers to move beneath the legs of said toy; drive means including a motor mounted on said base member and connected to one of said rollers to move said belts continuously about said rollers; a pair of fiat sided cam wheels centrally supported on said framework beneath the upper span of said belts, with each of said Wheels engaging one of said belts to raise and lower the path of said belt upon contact with said wheel surface and said flat side, said wheels being in opposite phase relationship, whereby to alternately engage and disengage said belts and said legs; a single drive means connecting both of said cam Wheels with said roller drive means for continuous rotation; and adjustable spring braces mounted on said framework and yieldably urging said pivoted uprights outwardly to maintain a predetermined tension on said belts.

HOWARD M. BLACK.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,187,708 Carruthers June 20, 1916 1,307,121 Foster June 17, 1919 1,529,004 Barber Mar. 10, 1925 1,766,089 Wood June 24, 1930 2,102,038 Schwartz Dec. 14, 1937 2,364,253 Thomas Dec. 5, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 382,340 Great Britain 1932 173,169 Germany 1929 

